Nashi Learns
by thecagedsong
Summary: Nashi has grown up without a mother, but she has Fairy Tail, so it's not like it matters to her, her mom was a horrible person anyway. When the guild finds out what Nashi thinks she knows about Lucy, they don't hold back on setting her straight. Nashi has a lot to learn.
1. The Strength of Parents

"Well my dad can take down your dad!" Lucas Fullbuster yelled at the rest of their group. He was losing an argument, and this was his go to for saving face.

"Yeah right! My dad could beat up your dad any day of the week!" Nashi Dragneel yelled back.

"Well my mom can take down both of your dads," Mica Fernandez bragged.

"She couldn't beat my mom AND dad," Lucas countered.

"But my mom and dad could beat up your mom and dad," said Mica.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, let's go ask them," Lucas challenged, "I bet my parents could beat up your parents."

"Fine," Mica agreed and they stomped off to where Erza and Gray were chatting at a table in their guildhall with Mira and Juvia, Nashi following quietly behind. This was one fight she couldn't join, simply because she only had one parent. She knew her dad was strong, possibly the single strongest person in the guild, but he always fought alone.

"MOM!" Both kids shouted, "Tell him you're stronger!" the three adults at the table looked confused.

"Okay, one at a time, what do you want?" Erza asked, obtaining obedience with a single command.

"We want to know, out of all the children here, who has the strongest parents?" Mica answered with confidence. If it wasn't him, then it was Ellie-Marie, the daughter of Laxus and Mira, and he could accept that, but no way was it Fullbuster's parents.

The adults all shared a look at the table and with a single voice they said, "Nashi."

"What?" The two boys asked, horrified, but they looked nowhere near as stricken as Nashi herself.

"What are you talking about?" Nashi demanded, angry, "Erza beats up my dad all the time." Nashi thought she knew what they were talking about and they had better not be.

"Sure, flamehead gets his butt handed to him routinely, but him and Lucy? None of the rest of us would stand a chance." Gray said casually, seeming to surprise himself.

"That's a lie!" Nashi shouted, surprising everyone in the guildhall, "My mom was a weak, stupid, wizard that couldn't finish a job. She was a drunk that disgraced the name Fairy Tail and removed her mark herself! She left me and dad and died in a train accident—" Nashi found herself unable to continue as she was suddenly enveloped in a cage of ice. Everyone looked to Gray, who was obviously angry, but trying not to show it. It was a standard rule in Fairy Tail that you don't beat up on the kids.

"Someone had to shut the brat up," he muttered, "How did Lucy end up with such a stupid kid anyway?" Juvia put a hand on her husband's shoulder, making him relax, even if only a little bit. Inside the cage you could make out a thirteen year old girl summoning her magic with a golden circle, only to have nothing happen. Then they got to watch her panic and start shouting.

"Did you add a magic canceling rune to it Gray?" Levy asked, walking from her spot on the other side of the guild, her long braid swinging behind her.

"Nope, it was too instinctive, didn't have time to put inscription runes in it," Gray answered, not caring, "We can sort her magic later, now why on earth does she think Lucy was a drunk that died in train accident?" Anger crept back into his voice and not even Juvia could stop it this time.

"My guess, and yours too if took a second to think before acting," Levy scolded, pushing her glasses onto the top of her head, "is that she looked up Lucy Dragneel in the library. That is exactly what Lucy herself would have done. Remember that guy that wanted to kill Lucy?"

"Which one?" Erza asked with a sigh, sparing a smile for the other two, now terrified, children, "Lucy stood up for a lot of things, and she had a lot of enemies." Levy answered with a little laugh.

"That's true, the one that swore he was going to use Lucy's ashes to destroy the celestial realm. We faked a death and a funeral to flush him out for a job." Gray snapped his fingers.

"Oh, that one. He was a fifth cousin of Lucy's or something that hated all celestial spirits for helping Lucy's mom instead of his mom. We made the reporter's print that story so he would come to her funeral service. She was so mad. Didn't she kick his butt to the last century?"

"Yeah, he became Maurice the odd, always raving about a celestial goddess," Mira laughed, remembering how the book she read her siblings as children changed overnight to include that particular legend.

"Wait, she actually sent him into the past? I thought time magic was lost and super dangerous?" Mica finally felt the courage to speak again, he wasn't used to being wrong.

"Oh, it is," his mom grinned, "but by that time Lucy could make her way around a time spell blind-folded. He may have also specifically threatened Aries, I think that is what set her off."

"Juvia thinks we don't talk about Lucy very much," Juvia commented quietly, shutting the rest of the adults up.

"Umm, Dad? I think Nashi is dying," Lucas said casually, internally freaking out. The little blonde girl may be annoying, but she was also one of the only friends Lucas had.

"Oh right," Gray said, letting his spell collapse into snow. A coughing Nashi was collapsed in the middle of it.

"Thank a lot, I may not be a fire dragon slayer, but I can't exactly take cold you know," she said, coughing and glaring.

"Now you listen here Nashi," Levy scolded, "You're mother was the bravest fairy in the entire history of the guild, she was also one of the most powerful. I'm willing to bet none of your spirits would answer because they loved her too much to get you out of punishment for talking bad about her. She has saved their lives several times over, as well as ours, and anyone who speaks poorly about her is going to get _the punishment_." Everyone shuddered at the thought of "the punishment."

"Even Taurus? No, even Aquarius?" Nashi asked, dumbfounded.

"Especially Aquarius kid, that mermaid was her first spirit ever, they got separated for a while and Lucy fought tooth and nail to get her back." Gray said, folding his arms "You should have just asked one of us about your mom if you were curious. The only articles Lucy wanted of herself in the News after she was married was a decoy to reveal a man intent on destroying the celestial world. Didn't even want a marriage announcement, but we convinced her anyways." Nashi flushed with embarrassment.

"Dad would always get sad when I asked why I didn't have a mom," she muttered, kicking at the ground, "I didn't want him to think he wasn't enough." Gray sighed.

"That's how Lucy ended up with a kid that stupid, she married Natsu. Look, your dad gets sad because Lucy was so incredible, so amazing, that every single day he feels like a part of himself is missing. We all do, she made her way into each and every one of our pasts, and brought us into the light. She was the first person I opened up to because I wanted to, not because I needed to join a guild or was seeking revenge."

"Juvia would never have joined or felt welcome at Fairy Tail if Lucy hadn't forgiven Juvia for kidnapping her," Juvia mused, pleased with the memory, "Juvia would never have gotten the courage to ask Gramps if Lucy hadn't called her a friend and preformed Fairy Tail's first Unison raid." The children were shocked by the story, unison raids weren't uncommon in their guild for their parent's generation, but they knew there was a time when that skill was revered. Or maybe they were just unsure as to why their aunt Juvia had kidnapped Nashi's mother in the first place. Several more adults had come around to their table at this point as well.

Gray nodded to his son, "you're named after her you know. If you were a girl you would have been Lucy."

"Are we sharing stories about Lucy now?" Elfman asked, from the next table over. "Lucy was the manliest man in the entire guild. If it wasn't for the Phantom Lord incident I would never have regained my magic, not to mention the way she totally kicked Bixlow's ass during Fantasia," he raised his mug to the remnants of Team Natsu.

"Got that right," Bixlow said from his crouched position on the bar, "Cosplaying Queen was tough as nails, and that was when she was at her weakest, not even a year in the guild yet. My favorite story is when she and Cana beat me and Freed with Bikini Babes, that was one fight I didn't mind losing." He laughed his usual crazy laugh, and suddenly the younger generation was bombarded with stories about how Lucy, this member they had barely recognized existed, saved, was saved, and helped just about everyone.

Laxus felt the need to regain control, and hopefully get his daughter out of the onslaught of stories. Not that she seemed disturbed, she was actually the one who seemed to be having the most fun.

"Everyone relax," the guild master said, and they obeyed, "Lucy was important, She has three names, Lucy Dragneel, Lucy of Fairy Tail, and Lucy Heartphila. This guild would not be here without her. She had more guts than the rest of us combined, and always had strength to spare for her family. If you want to know more, ask one of us, or go look up her names in the guild histories. I just want you to know kid, if your dad had heard you say anything bad about your mother you would have been knocked out cold in three seconds flat. We know, we counted. So don't go spreading tales."

Nashi nodded, thoroughly reprimanded, if a little confused.

"Course I knew her best," Gray bragged. One minute later a brawl broke out and Nashi was able to sneak away to the guild library. She was just about to type Lucy of Fairy Tail into the wizard's library assistant, when a voice interrupted her.

"Erza informed me she saw you sneak down here, you know, before going to punch Elfman in the face. Don't worry, I know how much you want to discover this on your own, but I have something that may help. I was going to give them to you when you were older, there is some dark stuff in your mother's past, but I think you are wise enough to know when you will be ready. Be careful with them." Levy drew the rune for bag, but it had an unfamiliar line drawn through it, and a box full of letters fell into Nashi's arms.

"What are these?"

"Letters," Levy answered simply, "Your mom wrote them to her mother, your grandmother, as she was growing up. Like I said, your mom had some dark things in her past, and you might want to read them with Natsu. It'll be cathartic for him." Nashi looked onto the pot of gold dropped into her arms as Levy turned to leave, but Levy stopped herself at the door.

"We don't talk about her… because of her death," Levy's voice cracked, "because each one of us feels like we failed her, but if you want to know who knew her best, after your father of course, they are all sitting on the key ring slung around your belt. She loved those spirits so much; she was stupid for them. She spoiled them rotten, I am almost afraid of how you would have turned out if she lived past that horrible day." There was a joyless laugh. Though she was still in the room, at the door, it was only now that Levy turned to face the thirteen-year-old, tears in her eyes, "Fairy Tail is known for cheating fate, for beating destiny into submission against our will to protect and love each other, but that day we lost. We lost hard." The solid script wizard, famous throughout Fiore and surrounding nations, left the room in tears, and the box still felt like gold, but now Nashi could feel the weight of it. Her arms ached, despite her strength, against the secrets carried in the box.

She set it down and pushed it under the table, not ready to face that price, and turned back to the Wizard's Assistant. _Lucy of Fairy Tail_, she entered into the search engine. The famous Wizard Lates developed it from his archive magic, and gave a prototype to Fairy Tail, only to have Levy guard it religiously in the bowels of the library. Now Nashi waited as the books containing that name flew from all over the library to land in a pile on the table in front of her.

She started with the guild history book, and opened to the year she was born. There was everyone she knew and loved, some people she remembered leaving the guild, and Gramps, who died two years ago. Finding a picture of her mother was easier than expected, her dad had one arm slung around her shoulder and the other on her pregnant belly, her mom's arm was slung around Levy even as Lucy smirked and pushed, (was that Leo?) with her foot. He seemed to be trying to woo Lisanna, but it wasn't working. In Nashi's mind, she could see the moment of the photo playing out. Lucy would push Leo with her foot, Leo would crash onto Lisanna's table, Natsu would laugh, Gray would point and laugh at Leo, as he was sitting next to Lisanna, and soon enough a brawl would start which the pregnant women would run away from and the guys would enjoy.

Lucy seemed so lively, like the picture was taken yesterday instead of thirteen years ago. Flipping through, all of Lucy's pictures were like that, all of them candid shots with just about every member of the guild, and a couple of her smirking after playing some kind of prank. Nashi had her dad's charcoal eyes, but the shape was her mom's, and her hair was the same blonde. She looked through some of the earlier books, and noticed events that were often talked of around the guild, like their first Grand Magic Games, and she didn't know her mom had participated every year before she got pregnant. And there was some girl that looked just like her doll Michelle, maybe her mom had it made to look like this friend so that they could always be close to each other. Then there was a gap, and while it was logical that her mom had been part of the time-skip, Nashi had never connected the two events. Her Mom was on Tenrou when the second darkest guild in Fiore attacked, she was partnered with Cana instead of her dad, so it must have been before they started dating.

The next guild history was from seven years previous and had the announcement of the missing members, guilds from all over talking about her parents and their friends. Holy ice on a watermelon, that was the same Hibiki Lates that developed Wizard's Assistant mourning the loss of the Fairies they had fought alongside against the Oracion Seis, Lucy Heartphilia in particular! Before the sad news clippings, there was a huge party, apparently, Aunt Lisanna had been on a trip to somewhere called Edolas and they were celebrating her return.

Going even further back, Nashi noticed that Leo was in the pictures, but he looked much different from the Lion she could summon from her keys. Lucy also appeared to have several more keys than the ones Nashi had, Aquarius, Leo, and Capricorn. A quick check showed ten golden keys and several silver ones on her waist in the first picture. Going back to Leo, she noticed he was rarely in the guild pictures the way she was used to him looking. There was no explanation of the change though.

There were no more guild histories after that, so Nashi figured that must have been the year her mom joined. Nashi deserved to have Gray put her in an ice cube, in fact, she should have been left there longer. The real information had been at her finger tips the entire time, but she was so concerned about making other people feel bad that she only used the public library, she was such an idiot.

The next was a book about celestial magic, written about five years ago, and Nashi flipped to the index to find where her mother was mentioned; there was an entire chapter on her.

_In the course of studying Celestial Magic, one would be doing a great disservice not to mention the most talented Wizard of this age: Miss Lucy Heatphilia. The hereditary magic was strong on her mother's side, but Lucy was in a category of her own. Not only the first Wizard in the past five hundred years to summon three spirits at once, she has also been declared Celestial Friend by the Spirit King himself. On top of that she has visited the celestial spirit world on more than one occasion, mastered the individual attack magic known as the Metiora spells, can manipulate the border of worlds to travel use a new form of time magic, and has been the only known wizard to have ever wielded all twelve zodiac keys at once. We will be going in depth to each of these accomplishments…_

It went on and on, Nashi finally understood what Gail meant by being lost in a book. Nashi had always been too impatient for reading before, but this was fascinating. Her mother had literally tested the very edges of celestial magic, and it mentioned she reached so deep that she hit the source of magic, but it didn't say anything more than that. The next three chapters were on some guy named Neville, but those weren't interesting. The book also mentioned that she was adept at an unprecedented use of the celestial world in the form of stable time spells, but it stayed focused on the celestial magic. If Nashi became half the wizard her mother was, she would be a force to be reckoned with. No wonder everyone had answered that Lucy and Natsu were the most powerful parents.

Her mother was a real person, not some shadowy loser, but someone who worked hard and laughed and played pranks, someone who had substance, who sat at the bar and talked to others about their day. Lucy Dragneel walked the same way home that Nashi Dragneel did, and used to balance on the riverside with a niccola following close behind, though Nashi had yet to make a contract with that spirit, it was kind of weird. Lucy had scars, Lucy had a signature hairstyle, and Lucy had a family in Fairy Tail that loved her. Nashi had a mother.

There were several Sorcerer Weeklies that followed, but looking at her mom posing in a bikini was weird, so she skipped over those.

The next book was a picture book that had a child's handwriting, Lucy of Fairy Tail, written inside the front cover. It was a short story about a girl who went about collecting keys, looking for happiness, only to make everyone else unhappy as she focused on her goal. Weird book, but maybe when she had a look at the letters she would understand why her mom owned this book. There was one final book in the stack, and this one surprised Nashi most of all. It wasn't a history or newspaper, it was a novel.

"Friendship Caught on Fire. By Lucy of Fairy Tail." Her mother was a novelist? How had she missed that? She tucked the book under her arm to take home as well as a couple of guild histories, the guild mark on her arm flashing as it let her leave with the book and the box of letters. Jumping through a window she managed to avoid her nosy friends and start heading for her home in the woods.


	2. When Things were Well

"Yo, completed the job with flying colors Mira," Natsu yelled as he entered the guild, bag slung over his back, "Wait, where's Nashi?" She usually welcomed him home.

"Oi! Natsu! Why the hell are such an idiot?" Gray yelled, his face instantly pressed up against his long-time rival's.

"Who is the idiot you freakin' popsical?" Mirajane insisted their insults all had to be PG since they had kids. Gray snuck in a quick punch to the stomach, which Natsu retaliated and missed. Gray hadn't tried this hard in a fight against Natsu for years.

"You ARE! For the guy that spent seven years of his life looking for his dad, only an idiot would go leaving their own kid ignorant about their mother. Stop insulting Lucy!" As soon as Igneel was mentioned Natsu's face hardened, as soon as Lucy was mentioned, he was livid. The real fight began and Erza, who no longer actually had the power to stop them when they went full swing, managed to guide the fighting outside the guildhall. Cana started calling for bets, and everyone under the age of twelve just stared at the immense power those two were giving off, especially as they finally started to use magic.

They were bruised, bloody, and half dead by the time Erza felt the need to make them stop.

"Gray, Natsu has been punished enough, why don't you tell him why he was deserving of punishment in the first place." The swords at their throats diffused the situation easily.

"You are an idiot," he started, but continued with Erza's glare, "the kids were trying to figure out who had the most powerful parents in the guild, and when we said you and Lucy, Nashi flipped out calling Lucy a drunken reject. Have you ever talked to her about Lucy?"

"Why the hell would she think that?" Natsu demanded, looking for someone to punish for defiling his wife's memory.

"She went to the local library and looked up Lucy Dragneel, the only article under that name was the fake one we used all those years ago. She had no idea who Lucy really was and I am holding you responsible." Gray was glaring, and Natsu looked like the floor had just been pulled out from under him, Erza lowered her swords. He fell to his knees.

"I didn't think," he chocked out, "it's still so raw, I didn't know." Erza stepped in now.

"That's right, you didn't think. The boy that arrived at the guild who wouldn't stop talking about his Dragon father who he would find one day, didn't stop to think how his own daughter would take her lack of a mother. She did it just like Lucy too, not wanting to worry anyone or make them sad, she went and discovered all she could on her own. Didn't even use the guild library and she had no maiden name to search with. Now, I know it must still be painful, but you need to tell Nashi about Lucy. I believe she went down to the guild library a couple of hours ago to look up the information we have there."

"Lucy," Natsu's voice broke. With his black eye and bleeding lip, he was possibly the most pathetic sight either of them had ever seen, and they were with him after Tartarus.

"Nashi is thirteen, you can still fix this. Do you want help?" Gray asked, anger vanquished by the sight of a broken Natsu.

"No, I've been the one neglecting Lucy's memory, I can face this. None of us have talked about her, but we should change that. You guys make sure your kids know, okay? I have to go find my daughter."

*****************************NALU*********************

He can smell her in her room, Happy was resting on the couch after the mission, and he decided to just bite the bullet. Of course, he had done that in the non-figurative sense, and that really wasn't pleasant, but he had survived it. He could survive this too, even if it felt like it would be easier to die than talk about Lucy. Natsu knocked on her pink door.

"Hey Nashi? Can I come in? It seems I have some explaining to do." He smelled tears and opened the door to his little princess holding two books, Keys of the Starry Heavens, and Lucy's novel, the one she completed just before their wedding.

"Why daddy? Momma was so amazing, why did she have to die?" Natsu's heart shattered into a million crystalline pieces. Tears gathered in his own eyes as he sat down on the bed next to her. It was a testament to how alone Nashi felt if she was talking like an eight year old, and he decided to treat her like a little kid again. Everyone was a little child when learning about their parents.

"I ask myself that everyday Princess," he said, pulling her onto his lap for a hug, "Your Momma was so happy all the time, she cared about everyone she met, she cared about people that couldn't fend for themselves, and she cared about you and me most of all. I tricked her into being my partner you know, it was the best decision I ever made." She giggled a little, and he felt her hiccup.

"I know I'm not as good as Lucy and I would have been, but just because it hurts me sometimes, doesn't mean you shouldn't know your momma as much as possible. So here is the new deal, you can ask me any question about Mom, and I have one hour to answer it. Deal?" he stuck out his pinky, something Lucy taught him little children do, years ago.

"Deal," Nashi giggled through her tears, linking her pinky with his. Nashi had always tried to act grown-up at the guild, like a real wizard, but Natsu could bring out the child in her when it was the two of them.

"So do you have any questions right now?" Natsu ask, easing the two of them back onto her bed, her body curling around his chest and himself propped up against the headboard.

"Are you going to be sad if I ask about Mom?" her voice chimed.

"A little, but they will be happy tears. Like one of the characters in Gail's book, you love them so much, because you know them so well, that when the book ends you are sad because you won't get to make more memories and go on more adventures with them. Talking about the different parts of the book can hurt for that reason, but you cherish each memory because you love them so much. Do you understand?" he asked, making little circles on her back.

"I think so, does that mean it's okay to ask how she died?" Natsu knew this question was coming, and while he dreaded it, he pulled his little girl tighter to give him strength.

"Yes," he choked out, "you can ask that question."

"How did Mom die?" she asked solemnly, and there it was. The question he had been avoiding for nearly all of Nashi's life.

"Remember how your Grandfather is Igneel, King of the Fire Dragons?" Natsu asked, trying to find a good place to start.

"Yep, you said that dragon princesses have to be fierce and protect the ones they care about," she giggled, thinking about the time she was nine and made her dad give her princess lessons. Natsu knew at least he taught something right.

"That's right, Igneel is my dad, but Mom was special too, she was just like a princess." He could feel Nashi's confused frown.

"But Mina is the princess," she named off Queen Hishi's daughter, who they went to visit every time they ended up in Crocus.

"That's right, but Mom had a piece of expensive land under her name, and by law it couldn't belong to anyone else. Her name also meant that anyone who married her would be accepted in the noble's circle and they could become very rich. She was a noble."

"But you married Mom,"

"Yes, but I married Mom because she was nice, and strong, and loved everyone, and I wanted to be with her forever and have a little princess to love just as much." She giggled as he poked her tummy.

"We didn't want the money, we liked being in Fairy Tail, so the land was supposed to stay with the government until a Heartphilia came along that did want it and could buy it back. But bad guys wanted the land and her name, so they came looking for her one year."

*****Flashback******

"I missed Nashi," Lucy sighed for the gazillionth time since they returned from their SSS Class mission with Erza, Wendy, and Gray, it had taken them two weeks, but now they had no worries about money for another three months, making it well worth the time, even if it meant they were away from Nashi for that while. A pregnant Juvia had watched her for them, claiming to want the practice of being a parent.

"I heard you, I missed our little princess too," Nastu replied with a smile. Life was perfect, Nashi was sleeping through the night, no one had tried to kill his family members, and his wife was shining. His little girl had waited for them to come home to start walking too. Right now Lucy was carrying her to the guild, and he couldn't wait to show off how early his daughter was walking to everyone there.

They enter the guild around ten, their family liked to sleep late, well Natsu did, Lucy liked to write in the mornings.

"Hello everyone, look what Nashi learned!" Lucy called out to the guild, drawing everyone's attention. The guild was on a baby high, and had been ever since the first of the next generation, Elfman and Evergreen's daughter had been born. Then Lucy's eye caught something, and her face went dead. He had seen more life in her face after being knocked out cold on a battle field then he did at that moment. The next thing Natsu knew he was holding Nashi and Lucy was attacking someone.

"How dare you show your face here!" She screamed, lashing out with her whip.

"_Was Momma strong?" Nashi asked._

"_The strongest," Natsu replied, "It took Laxus, Gray, Gajeel, and Erza to hold her back."_

"_Wow," she said amazed, "Why didn't Gray just put her in an Ice Cage? It trapped me,"_

"_I never said he didn't try," Natsu answered, relishing this part of the story._

"Woah Lucy, Relax!" Gray shouted as her whip cut through the air above him and far too close to Juvia for his liking.

"Ice-Make Cage!" he called, enclosing Lucy in ice. That lasted for about one second as she reached for her keys and stuck one into the ice. Virgo appeared on the other side, just as Lucy disappeared into the celestial world for a single moment and re-entering her world through Virgo's gate. She reappeared beside Virgo a second later and continued attacking the new guy, ordering Virgo to defend her. Gray made Juvia go into the back room as he called for Laxus to help. Everyone had assumed that the noise was a normal guild brawl, but when Lucy screamed again, they knew it was anything but.

"You will leave and never come back!" she screamed, reaching again for her keys even as Virgo focused on her defense. The guy tried to pull what looked like a magic staff on her, but Lucy's whip reacted as fast as her will, and snatched it out of his hand as soon as he gripped it and tossed it across the room.

"Lucy! He isn't fighting back!" Gray shouted, trying to get close. Gajeel joined in then, as did Erza, but Lucy called forth Capricorn and Gemini, transformed as herself, to fight against them. Finally Laxus, the new guild master, came down from the upper floor and had to use his lightning speed to reach a still fighting Lucy. He wrapped his arms around her in what looked like a bear hug from behind, and that distracted the celestial spirits long enough for the other members of Fairy Tail to send them back to the celestial world. A quick strike from Gejeel knocked her whip out of her hands to stop it from continuing to strike Laxus. The whip left welts on the dragon slayer's shoulders.

"Let me GO!" Lucy was still struggling, something wild and painful in her eyes that they hadn't seen since she broke down about Aquarius, "I said let me go, Laxus, Gajeel, Gildarts, whoever you are needs to let me kick this guy out of this place now, I'm going to murder him!"

"It's Laxus, now shut up and explain why you are attacking our obviously outclassed new comer. It isn't like you," as she continued to struggle, Laxus making sure she was kept away from her keys, and he finished with a threat, "don't make me knock you out in front of your kid." That shut her up, she stopped struggling and her vision flickered between the bleeding man on the floor to her child still cradled in Natsu's arms.

"Fine, I'll talk, but someone needs to get Nashi as far away from here as possible. At the end of the day I'll have a plan of action and whoever takes her must meet me in the ruins." Laxus nodded, knowing this was as much as they were going to get from the agitated celestial mage. The ruins were the broken pieces of Tartarus's guild hall just outside of Magnolia.

"Mira, can you and Lis take Nashi and Ella? I'll fill you in afterwards," his wife nodded and moved to a stunned Natsu, taking a fidgeting child from his arms.

"I think today is an excellent day for a picnic," Mira said casually, grabbing her purse and leaving with her sister, her daughter, and Nashi.

"Alright," Laxus took charge again, "Gajeel, you get this guy to the infirmary, Wendy is out, so we have time to figure out how much we want to heal him. Erza, Gray, Natsu, I assume you'll want to figure this out too, you can come, just make sure Lucy doesn't flip out again. We'll be in my office, no one is allowed to eavesdrop or disturb," a pointed glare made his point around the rest of the guild, and the five of them marched up to Laxus's office, Lucy trying not to panic in the middle.

Every instinct was telling her to get out, take Nashi, Natsu, and her keys and run as far away as she could get. The door closed, Freed's anti-spying runes lit along the door, and Lucy was guided to the chair in front of the desk.

Laxus took his seat, feet in the air as usual, "Okay Lucy, what's the story? How do you know Michael D'Angelis and why do you want to murder him? You don't seem the grudge holding type."

"You forgave Gajeel with almost no second thought," Erza said, Lucy's forgiving nature was always something the Knight had always admired about her friend.

"There was a line, a line Gajeel, Juvia, Jose, hell; even the Oracion Seis didn't cross. I'll give you one guess." The others looked at each other, no one wanting to say what they thought Lucy was implying.

"He was my fiancé," Lucy said, her arms constantly moving, grabbing at the her arms, hair, face, she looked like a caged animal. Natsu picked her off the seat as she protested, and placed her on his lap. She, and the tension in the room, relaxed visibly.

"I mean, the one from the southern continent my dad tried to marry me off to all those years ago. Did you guys ever want to know the final straw to my heiress life? What woke me up enough to get the hell out of there? It was him. Names, propriety, they are all so important to those people, my dad was outside the norm in that he only verbally and emotionally abused me as a kid. Most other families it crosses over to physical with little to no thought, and the kids can't break the cycle. Being raised by abusive bastards turns us into abusive bastards." She was angry again, so she made herself calm down and focus on Natsu, his heat, his heartbeat under her hand, and his skin touching hers. She only looked into her husband's chest as she recounted the story.

"It was my sixteenth birthday, the children had separated while the adults used my party to talk business. His family uses staff magic the same way mine uses celestial. He used his magic to toss my keys out the window, and slap me to the ground. He promised that everyday was going to be like that when our dads finished the marriage contracts, and that I looked wonderful on my knees, where I belonged."

"_That's horrible," Nashi said, "How could someone live like that?"_

"_Mom didn't," Natsu said, "she left the money and the clothes and the big houses so that that would never happen to her. I am sorry, but your last name on your birth certificate is actually Heartphilia. It's part of an old system of ruling, just remember what life among the rich is really like if you ever feel the need to cash in on that inheritance."_

_Natsu was extremely glad he edited that part. The reality of Lucy's sixteenth birthday was nothing so nice. D'Angelis had had a staff that could light anything non-human on fire at will, and he used it to burn her clothes off in front of everyone. She was too shocked to move. Michael D'Angelis then looked at her like something he was trying to buy at the market. She told Natsu that she could still hear his voice as he commented on every little detail, how perfect her skin was, what a nice ass she had, and how her dress didn't do her boobs justice. Then the bastard told the laughing audience all about how Lucy would be all his with in a year when their dads finalized their marriage and then her name, her land, and her body would belong to him. He started touching her, and as Lucy found the will to move away, he slapped her. Told her flat out that this was what life was and that she had better get used to it. _

_Nashi didn't need to know all of that. _

"You guys know I can't change my name, and he wants that. The only reason he would join Fairy Tail would be to come after me, my name, and my family. He is one sadistic bastard that I will send to hell if I see again." She was furious, and Natsu could feel emotions shaking her body.

"You were close the first time," Gray muttered. The room was silent in response to her story.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Natsu said, still holding her.

"I got over it, I didn't want to remember. I left that world, that philosophy, and I am not going to be put into any kind of relationship with that man again." This last part was directed as a glare at Laxus, who sighed.

"It's not that simple Lucy, he admits to being from a wealthy family in the South, he admits to hating it and when his wife died he ran away from it all. He seems truly regretful; I have to give him a chance to try. Where would we be if we turned away every former enemy?"

"Line," Lucy hissed.

"If Gajeel didn't cross the line by crucifying Levy, Jet, and Droy, and painting the phantom mark on their bodies, then that line is much farther than you are making it." Laxus ordered, making Lucy flinch, "Do you really think we would let any harm come to you? He tries anything and I will gladly assist you in making his grave. I'll also have someone investigate his story, see if it checks out." Lucy was tensing up again, and nothing Natsu could do would stop it.

"You think he won't know every method we use to check already, 5000 Jewel says that he has an amulet that will prevent Warren from reading his mind. You don't understand how these people work, he can go join another guild; I refuse to have him near me or my family."

"I can't do that Lucy," Laxus said seriously, standing up to emphasize his point. Lucy stood up too, she may have been shorter than Laxus, but at that moment they were completely equal.

"Well I can't wait for him to pull some evil plan that ends with me or Nashi under his control! You get rid of him, or I AM LEAVING FAIRY TAIL!" Stunned silence reigned. No one in their wildest dream thought that leaving Fairy Tail would even cross Lucy's mind as an option. Fairy Tail was her home, her family, her everything.

"Let's just think this through Lucy," Erza tried to reason.

"I am thinking it through," Lucy said viciously, pacing, spazzing, "If there was even the tiniest chance Ellie-Marie could end up the twelve-year-old bride of an abusive forty-year-old man so that his last name could be Dryer, what would you be willing to do Laxus?" Laxus flinched at the mention of his daughter. She was two-years-old and the absolute pride of her parents, "Any guild in the nation would take me, Natsu, and Nashi in, hell, they've been trying to buy us for years. Don't doubt me," A small magic circle inscribed with a star appeared in her left hand, and she hovered it over her Fairy Tail mark.

"Hold it Luce," Natsu stood up behind her and used his own hand to cover the magic circle in hers, not even flinching at the burning feeling of his wife's raw power, "Nothing is going to happen to Nashi, we won't let that happen. There are more options than leaving Fairy Tail or kicking out a possibly reformed man." There was a moment of silent communication between the two, and eventually Lucy yanked her hand free.

"Fine, you have until sunset to give me an option I can live with. I'm tracking Nashi down and going to spend the day with her, it's that or I go to the infirmary and kick that devil back to where he came from, and I'm not talking about the south. I am sorry guys, but things have changed. There is one thing I love more than Fairy Tail, and that's my little girl."

"_Mom loved me even more than Fairy Tail?" Nashi's eyes lit up in amazement. _

"_Yes she did, and I love you more than Fairy Tail, and you know what? Fairy Tail loves you more than Fairy Tail, no matter what you do, even if one day you start to think like your Momma and feel it in your heart that you have to leave, Fairy Tail will still love you. That's what that mark right there means, even if you leave and remove your mark, it's never really gone." he tapped the pink fairy on the inside of her wrist, and Nashi contemplated it. _

"_I'm sorry for all the things I said about Mom," she said quietly. Natsu forgave her instantly._

"_It's okay, that's why I am telling you all this, so you can be proud of her."_

"_So what happened? Did Mom come find me?" Nashi asked._

Lucy left, and Natsu faced Gray, Erza, and Laxus.

"Set something straight for me," Natsu said slowly, "We have denied members in the past who didn't prove up to scratch or if we thought they wouldn't fit in the family. We never let fangirls join, so why is it such a difficult thing to give this to Lucy?" Laxus let the fight go out of him and slumped into his chair.

"I am going to let you in on some secrets, these don't leave this room and Freed can erase your minds the moment you talk. Fairy Tail has special privileges granted to it, ones Gramps fought tooth and nail for. It's how we can let orphans work, how we can get away with destroying entire cities, and how Juvia, Gajeel, and others escaped persecution from the council once their mark was revealed. We are known as the reform/orphanage of the guilds, but the council wanted to revoke those privileges when I became Master. I have to have a spotless record, or even Jellal won't be able to keep them off our case. As soon as I reject someone because of their past, my past and everyone else's will be counted against them as well. They'll have the right to drag half our members in for questioning about events that happened years ago, part of their new policy to stop dark guilds from forming." Everyone was frowning as the realities of their situation were laid out.

"So in order to keep our family, we can't reject people from our family?" Gray questioned incredulously.

"Don't forget Gray," Laxus warned, "Fairy Tail is a family, but most guilds see themselves as work partners and that's it. That argument won't work against the council because they will simply see their job as part of regulating the workplace and if we lose, we lose big time." There was silence as everyone tried to come up with a solution.

"Can you talk sense into her Natsu?" Laxus asked, "would explaining why we can't kick him out make her stay until we can do a full background on him? Warren and Laki should be able to get something if there is anything to get." Natsu shook her head.

"Didn't you see? She was terrified, and not a lot scares her at this point. This fear has made it's way into the irrational. She won't see sense, because the fear isn't sensible. Lucy beat the guy to a pulp, and she is still certain he can beat Fairy Tail and take Nashi away. We have to come up with enough rules for him to make her feel safe. I'm willing to be she already had Levy place a caterwauling rune on Nashi to go off when that guy gets within ten feet of her."

"Well, that's a start," Erza said decisively, "What we need to do is get him to quit, and until then put him on probation. I will supervise him on missions as well." Erza said determinedly.

"That'll scare him off," Natsu and Gray murmured in unison.

"What was that boys?" Erza threatened, a dark Aura growing around her.

"Nothing," they squeaked, more out of habit than anything.

"I can convince her to go with that," Natsu said, "An Erza guard dog, Caterwauling Rune, and Laki and Warren searching deep, I'll also tell her about council privileges, we should be okay. I don't know how long she'll go for it, Lucy doesn't have any other irrational fears so there is nothing to judge by. Get Juvia on her asking about parenting advice; that will keep her mind off her past." Gray nodded and Laxus seemed satisfied.

"One last thing Natsu," Laxus said seriously, "I need to know, if Lucy bolts, leaves and joins another guild, will you go with her?" The pressure in the air increased tenfold, and everyone was still again.

"Lucy had one thing right in her head," Natsu said slowly, "Fairy Tail used to be the most important thing, I would leave with Luce in a heartbeat. I'm pretty sure my heart doesn't beat at this point without her around, and I could never abandon Nashi." Laxus nodded and Gray clapped his brother, in everything but blood, on the back.

"Wow," Natsu shook his head, "that's one choice I never thought I would have to make, Lucy and Fairy Tail have always been together."

"Go find her," Gray suggested, opening the door and dispelling the runes, "chances are she is embarrassed she flipped out like that, and make sure she doesn't pull one of her stunts again. As fun as it is traveling around carrying your moping motion sick butt, it really isn't."

"Oh because you are so much help, at least Erza knocks me out, you like to watch me suffer," Natsu retorted, following Gray out the door.

Tracking his wife's scent lead him to the grove of Cherry Blossom trees where Mira, Lisanna, Lucy, Ella-Marie, and Nashi were indeed having a picnic.

"Nashi? Could I borrow Momma for a bit?" he asked her, crouching down to her level to look her in the eye. She looks at Lucy for a second before nodding and crawling over to where Mira was dangling a toy.

They walk a ways, find the blossom tree Natsu dug up for Lucy all those years ago, and climb its branches, both capable climbers at this point. A large part of their dating life had been up this tree.

"So, are we leaving Magnolia?" Lucy asked, sitting across from her husband with their knees touching. He takes her hand and traces her guild mark without making a sound. She sighed.

"I'm sorry about that Natsu, I didn't mean to scare you. I don't want to leave, I swear." Natsu let his gaze meet Lucy's and leaned forward for a light kiss.

"I was a thousand time more scared when you started beating up someone who wasn't skilled enough to fight back," he told her, eyes holding her still, foreheads touching, "and incredibly angry when you said what he had done to you. Helpless when you were trembling, and annoyed with Laxus when he explained why we can't just not let him into the guild. You going to let me explain?" He asked. She let out a deep breath and nodded her head, he leaned back, not letting go of her hand.

"Have you ever wondered why Fairy Tail gets away with so much damage, letting in orphans, and none of the guys in our guild who have reformed are charged by the council? Gramps fought for those privileges, and they wanted to equalize everything in the new council, that meant taking away our status once Laxus took over. It is because our ideals are so good at reforming people, and those people go on to help us save the world, that we are what we are. If we can prove your guy is crooked, we have every right to kick him out, but Laxus, someone who could be charged with multiple accounts of attempted murder, can't deny someone entry because of their past. As soon as we do it, everyone in the guild is held re-responsible for their 'crimes' and the council cuts our privileges. That's why Laxus couldn't dismiss him right away."

Lucy had been examining a new growth of the tree for the duration of the story and wasn't looking at him.

"Hey, you wouldn't want Juvia being dragged off for misuse of magic because she kidnapped you, right?" he nudged her and she sighed.

"I suppose not, so what have you got for me. If Laxus can't kick him out, I'm left with an impossible choice." Though she said that, they both knew exactly what she would do.

"Erza is on watchdog duty, he can't accept any requests without her. Laki and Warren, as soon as he gets back, will be sent to dig up anything there is to find about why he left. Finally we are going to put a caterwauling charm on Nashi, you obviously can fight him off, as well as the rest of Fairy Tail's S class, but anytime he gets within 12 feet of her an alarm will sound that basically yells that he needs to remove himself from the vicinity. We will be near Nashi at all times and make sure to get between them as soon as it sounds. Is that going to be okay?" Natsu asked, fiddling with her fingers nervously. The silence dragged as Lucy wrestled with herself.

"Yeah," Lucy said at last, "Sorry for scaring you, but I just snapped. I have never felt that vulnerable and attacked, like such a possession. I wasn't human, the last time I saw him."

"And I want to murder him for making you feel that way, but I also want to thank him. If you hadn't been pushed, if he had pretended like you were going into a life of love, you never would have run away. I never would have met you in Hargeon, and the world would have died several times over." He leaned forward to kiss her, and she kissed back, just enjoying the sensation of the other.

"I would have left with you Lucy," Natsu said as the kiss broke, "the others asked me if I would, so I wanted to make sure you knew. I would follow you to the ends of the earth, and catch you when you fell off of it." Her breath caught, and he realized she hadn't known. Almost every time she had talked about leaving, she had been referring to herself and Nashi, not wanting to speak for Natsu.

"We're partners," Lucy breathed, "I just didn't want to be the responsible for removing your mark." He kissed her again before just holding her close.

"You can speak for me anytime Luce, you and Nashi are my family, and if I thought you were in danger for a second, something I knew we couldn't handle, I would take our marks off myself. But we are stronger with the guild, if there is any way we are going to get you over this fear, any way we are going to keep Nashi safe, it's going to be with Fairy Tail."

"You're right," she breathed, "But I am going to scare the pants off him, keep Nashi away from him forever, and never let any of us be alone with him. I want to meet with him and be the one to explain the rules."

"We can do that," Natsu said, running his finger through her hair, the same bubbly yellow that their daughter had. They sat together, just enjoying their private spot. The entire guild knew this was their spot of course, but there was no way to approach the tree without one of them being alerted. Natsu was the first to sense the Strauss sisters' arrival.

"We got company," Natsu whispered, letting her go and moving to help her down.

"Natsu and Lucy, sitting in a tree," Lisanna sang, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

Lucy finished the rhyme for her, "first comes love, then comes marriage," she swung down and picked up her giggling girl and blew a raspberry on her tummy, "then comes the baby in the baby carriage." Nashi was shrieking with laughter now, and the five of them enjoyed a loving relaxing picnic. Natsu could guess that there was some tension after seeing Lucy blow-up like that, but was glad to find no trace of it afterwards. Erza stopped by with Mica on her shoulders, and it was a grand time watching Nashi try to stand and follow the older boy, and how Mica would try to help her but usually end up tripping over her.

"_Mica was so sweet," Nashi whined, "what happened to him?" _

_Natsu laughed, "You were so sweet too, imagine what he thinks of you now."_

"I got her to relax," Natsu called out as he re-entered the guild, Lucy and Nashi trailing behind him. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, because I'm such a monster," she said sarcastically, "Anyone know where Levy is?"

"She should be checking in later tonight," Kianna called from the bar, and Lucy nodded.

"What I want to know is where the hell that came from Bunny-girl?" Gajeel asked, chomping on a fork.

"He's an ex," Lucy said simply.

"Not what I was talking about," Gajeel said, "I was talking about the fact that it took four S class wizards to take you down. Where did that come from?"

"It was a really bad relationship, I felt threatened," Lucy defended, "Now you know why I am always part of the Games. What time is Levy going to be back?"

"Seven, why aren't you an S class then?" Gajeel asked, still not getting it.

"And have every upstart in the guild begging to fight me? No thank you. My team is S class, so I can take any request I want, why would I want to be an S class?" She shook her head and went to go apologize to Gray and Erza, and get them to let her be the one to tell him the rules.

"Um Lucy? He is still unconscious, I highly doubt he wants to be anywhere near you for the foreseeable future," Gray said. When Gajeel reported the extent of the damage, even Erza flinched.

"Good, one last warning about it should be enough," Lucy said sweetly, gently bouncing her baby.

"Good for you I guess, Wendy took a solo as soon as we were back, something about an old patron of Cait Shelter, she won't be back for another week."

"Oh, in all the excitement I forgot to tell you guys, Nashi started walking yesterday!" and the guild continued on as normal. When Levy entered the guild that night, a caterwauling rune was placed for twelve feet on Nashi's back, and everyone left to put their little ones to bed.


	3. A Star Falls

_**The Stars, they burn. Some even fall to the Earth.**_

The next week was a tense one for the Dragneels; twice D'Angelis ended up in Nashi's radius at the guild and it always ended with Natsu or Lucy scooping up their little girl to calm her while glaring at the intruder. Erza indeed shadowed him for his days in the guild, going on several lower level missions for supervision, and the day after Lucy's breakdown Warren and Laki set out.

Erza found nothing suspicious, and found him to be an amiable companion. People were getting annoyed when every time Lucy and Natsu were sitting at a table that Michael tried to pass and a huge wailing noise went off. There was a tension between Gajeel, Juvia, Laxus, and Lucy as she continued to treat every move the guy made as a continued move of aggression. They could see themselves in his honest reactions, and it hurt.

Then the month ended and Laki and Warren came back empty handed, claiming that his story checked out with everyone they interviewed. All of them said the same thing, his wife went suicide after the pressures of being noble and Michael D'Angelis left a week later, abandoning his estate, letting his staff go, with a note saying how he wanted to make something of his life and leave the horrors of it behind. It sounded like Lucy's story, making it even more confusing as to why she kept mistreating him. It settled things for the rest of the guild, Erza started getting tired of babysitting and let him go on solo jobs every once and a while, and people started muttering every time the caterwauling rune sounded.

Two months after that and everyone, even Natsu, was getting tired of Lucy's non-stop suspicious glares and over-protection of Nashi. Michael proved himself to be wonderful with the kids and the other parents had no problems with letting them play together. He was charming in all the best ways.

"Lucy, we need to take a mission again," Natsu said one night, "Money is running low. Erza will be back tomorrow, and Juvia is willing to take Nashi for another week."

"You sure? She seems to have fallen for D'Angelis's tricks, what if Juvia leaves Nashi alone with him?" Natsu sighed, exasperated.

"Then nothing happens, if we ask her not to, Juvia will respect that. I don't know if Gray will want to stay with her so pregnant, but the worst that could happen is some unsupervised time at the guild where no one will bother Nashi. You trust Fairy Tail right? They won't let anything happen to our baby. The caterwauling rune will keep them apart if only for the sake of their ears." Their marriage had been suffering because of Lucy's grudge, and Natsu was positive an adventure away from this pressure was exactly what Lucy needed.

"One week?" Lucy asked, one eyebrow raised.

"One week," Natsu promised, grabbing her hand from it's place on her book, their quiet time in the living room after Nashi was asleep was hosting this conversation.

"Something S class that will pay for another two months?" Lucy asked, squeezing his hand back.

"Definitely S class, you'll get to beat something up, I know how much tension you've had. Beating up someone should help with that." He pulled her onto his lap and was whispering in her ear.

"Hmm, beating up people sounds good," Lucy said, distracted by Natsu's lips on her neck.

"We are going to trust our family with our most treasured person and nothing will happen because we are Fairy Tail and we protect each other."

"But…" Natsu shut her up with a kiss.

"_Dad," Nashi whined, "I don't need to hear every single time you kissed Mom."_

"_Well you can't see me kiss your mom anymore," Natsu explained good-naturedly, "I want you to know how much I loved her. We would be even more embarrassing than Juvia and Gray if she was still alive." Nashi pretended to be disgusted, but they both knew she loved hearing it. Only her father knew what a secret romantic Nashi was at heart._

"Okay," Lucy agreed, and the next day they made arrangements, everyone was relieved to have Lucy's tension out of their way. Gray ended up going with them, and it took another round of convincing to get her to leave Nashi, but everyone in the guild helped.

It was while they were away that Levy, Mira, and Lisanna concocted the worst idea in the history of the guild, and that includes Laxus's Thunder Palace.

"We really need to get Lucy to forgive Michael," Levy said, the day after the Dragneels left, "She is normal, lovable, Lucy until she sees his face and it's like a monster comes out. He is actually really nice." Levy and Michael had bonded over some books he had taken from his family's library.

"If there was something wrong we would have figured it out by now, and I know that Natsu is feeling the strain on their relationship," Lisanna frowned, worried about her friends' marriage.

"It is sad that Lucy can't just be happy with her family anymore," Mirajane agreed. "Maybe if we could convince Nashi to like him, Lucy will understand that he doesn't want to hurt anyone. You can't stay angry at someone who your kid begs to see everyday. Trust me." Ellie-Marie was in love with the way Michael called her princess, and it melted Mira's heart every time. Laxus was still suspicious, but he was protective of everything that had to do with their daughter.

"I can get rid of the caterwauling rune," Levy volunteered.

"Michael is also a fantastic chef; he has shown me and Mira several recipes that are huge hits. Maybe we can ask him to help in the kitchen the day Lucy comes back. Food softens everyone, and that's how he got Natsu to relax around him," Lisanna added.

"If we show how much she is hurting Fairy Tail with her anger, I'm sure Lucy will at least try to forgive him," Levy finalized.

"_Levy took the caterwauling rune off you that afternoon, and Juvia was convinced to let D'Angelis play with you and the rest of the children." Natsu said, wanting to delay the next part._

"_Are you okay Daddy?" Nashi asked._

"_Yeah, it's just that my hour is almost up, and this doesn't end very happy."_

"_I want to know," Nashi demanded, "I need to know what happened to her."_

_Natsu nodded, his own words echoing in his ears from years of saying the same thing about his father._

"_Okay."_

Lucy entered the guild, excited to greet her family. D'Angelis wasn't mentioned at all on the trip with Natsu, Gray, Wendy, and Erza. A week with her closest friends and nights with her husband were exactly what she needed, she felt fresher than ever.

"Oh, hi Lucy, we were waiting for you to come home, how was the mission?" Mira said, immediately blocking Lucy's vision of the rest of the guild, a heavy plate of cookies in hand. Lisanna was munching on one beside her.

"Um, hi, it's good to be back. The mission went like usual, lots of destruction and fighting, just what I needed. What do you have there?" Lucy said politely.

"Just some cookies from the kitchen, take one, it's a new recipe we're trying," Lisanna encouraged. The rest of Team Natsu nearly knocked Lucy and Mira over in their excitement for sweets, even Wendy getting in on it.

"No thanks," Lucy laughed, picking herself off the ground, "Where is Nashi?" But she had been pushed into a clear vision of the guild, more specifically a clear vision of her little girl giggling on the shoulder of Michael D'Angelis.

"NASHI!" Lucy screamed through out the guild, everyone stopping what they were doing. This wasn't any ordinary Fairy Tail yell, this was complete and utter terror. Lucy started running as fast as she could through the guild, but was stopped by a barrier Freed put up.

"Lucy, relax, no harm has come to Nashi as you can clearly see. Your grudge has gone on too far. Laxus left me in charge while he attends a guildmaster's meeting and I must insist you stop this ridiculous behavior," The rune mage demanded.

"Yeah, Michel's a cool guy," Bixlow said from next to Freed, his babies echoing his words.

"I trusted you!" Lucy shouted to the guild, betrayal ringing clear. She threw herself against the barrier, frantically bruising herself as she slammed into wall after wall after wall. Her gaze locked with Juvia, Levy, Elfman, Warren, and anyone else who dared to meet her eyes for even a second.

"That's it," Lucy declared voice shaking, "Give me my baby, Natsu, Nashi, and I are leaving Fairy Tail." A silence roared this time, no one but Lucy's team and Laxus had known how deep Lucy's fear went.

"Think about this bunny-girl," Gajeel said, "Fairy Tail is your home." Lucy shook her head and fumbled for her keys.

"Home is where you feel safe and trusted. My little girl is sitting in the hands of a monster as my family keeps me trapped in a barrier. Fairy Tail is not my home; I'm leaving as soon as I can get to Nashi." She used the same technique when she escaped Gray's ice barrier to get out of Freed's runes, this time with Taurus's key.

"Sorry Lucy," Michael drawled, "I can't actually let you do that. This was impossibly hard the first time, and you know how much I hate for my own hard work to go to waste." Nashi still balanced on one arm, he pulled out a piece of paper and recited a three word spell, causing everyone in the guild besides Lucy to collapse onto the ground, their faces a sickly yellow.

"What did you do?" Lucy cried, "Taurus, get Nashi away from him," and she herself reached for her whip.

"I see you didn't try one of my cookies, or any of the food I had been making for the past month, shame on you, but all for the best I suppose. I wouldn't want to get engaged to someone nearly dead anyway. I would much rather be able to marry you than have to wait for little Nashi here to grow up." Just before Lucy and Taurus reached him, he threw a staff at her, even as she tried to deflect it, it wrapped around her body trapping her and squeezing Taurus out of existence.

"You and your wretched guild, my goodness I have been wanting to say this for ages. Your guild is so pathetic; you claim that every battle fought is won by the power of friendship, how childish. Everyone here is so annoying, so retarded, especially that Erza girl you stuck me with. Always demanding respect for your puny guild and demanding that I learn about how to honor and 'respect' my family. I almost gave up on you, so softened and idealistic in this disgusting guild, but you remembered your lessons. You knew that my vow to own you would be swayed by nothing and did everything you could to fight me. Someone gets an A plus for recalling her lessons."

He laughed then, and Lucy was unable to make a sound, the black staff gagging her even as she tried to chew through it. With a scary gentleness, he put a now crying Nashi down in the crib kept in the back of guild. He took his time walking across the guild, a gleeful smile on his face.

"I bet you tried explaining how deep an oath like that goes, how black we train our hearts to be, and how much we learn to enjoy it. Don't worry love, I understand you, and we'll make sure Nashi grows up the same way." Light started gathering around Lucy as she called on her magic power, he just looked on amused. Then he stooped down and stole her key ring from her belt, tossing it out the window, it was the same scene Lucy remembered from her sixteenth birthday, and by his grin, he knew it. All around the guild people were protesting trying to stand up, trying to move even their mouths, only to be stopped by some physical force. Lucy knew it wasn't pain, her family was all but immune to that form of coercion.

"Tempesta," Freed managed to spit out as Lucy's power continued to crackle through the air.

"Ah yes, some your friends seem familiar with the poison of the demon Tempesta. Did you know I was one of the biggest backers of Tartarus? Of course you did, you knew before you were seven that other families kept their prestige through darker means, but not the Heartphilias, _oh no,_ they were too much the self-righteous fools. Your family was doomed the moment your mother ran to a merchant guild. Your father was an idiot who didn't know the first thing about running the business of Nobles. Everyone knew that once you married me, your family could have had the propriety it once was famous for, but then you ran away as well." He kicked Lucy in the stomach and laughed, then he did it again.

Natsu was in hell. He had never bothered to find out what the poison felt like to the Thunder Legion, poison couldn't feel anything but bad, but it was worse than just pain, it was complete paralysis. He had chomped down six of those cookies before Lucy saw Nashi, and every muscle in his body was seized up. It was worse than motion sickness, his insides were rotten and his vocal cords were frozen. The only thing that seemed to be free were his eyes, tears of frustration welling up as the person he loved was being hurt over and over again before his eyes. The faint whisper of her name fell from his lips and he hoped more than anything it was a nightmare.

He had experienced this so many times before, and whether it was a pile of boulders holding him back, Lucy's own desire to fight for herself, or poison, being helpless was a fear that only grew. That bastard kicked her again and again, and no matter how strong he knew Lucy was, and no matter how many times he was stuck watching her get hurt, there was terror and there was pain.

This week had been so perfect, he had gotten Lucy to relax after the first day, and he knew that Nashi was safe. Now he was paying the price for his choice. Tears of frustration continued to leak as Natsu strained against the poison, the power of a dragon failing in its grip.

"I've been wanting to do that for ages! Can you imagine the indignation; your fiancé would rather work as a _wizard_, than marry you? The only thing more embarrassing was how your father went about trying to get you back. I mean, hiring another wizard guild? It was shameful, effortless, and lacking in all style or brains. Trust me, you were one month away from this plan being enacted when we were both seventeen, but then the entire town of Magnolia is ripped off the map for two weeks. After that you and several of the vermin you associate with disappear for seven years. I had already gotten married by the time you got back." He was angry, but stopped for a second to create a calm, almost more terrifying than his anger.

"This isn't nearly as fun as it should be, it's too easy," he snapped his fingers, "I know, I'll let you talk. Hearing your screams should be more than enough pay back for the uncultured hell your guild mates put me through." He leaned down and tapped the thick black ropes covering Lucy's face, she spit at him.

"Of course I knew how it would be seen, it was meant to shame you to hell," Lucy growled. Lucy had the advantage, her voice could echo to the celestial world and he didn't know it, but she needed to find out more. "You also killed your wife and made it look like a suicide right? Your family was fond of that tactic to get more power, your grandmother especially if I recall."

"Ah yes, my dear late Silvia, she was the younger daughter of the Mortimers, nothing in her head, ugly features on it, and unable to give me a son, it was almost too easy to kill her. Not like you, you plan and you know how to keep your head in this Game of Houses, it took months working on turning your entire guild against you before I even got to touch Nashi and you are even more beautiful than the day of your sixteenth birthday, I relish the chance to relive that day over and over. Once you are married to me, and we knock this silly notion of power and independence out of your head, you will be the perfect wife."

"I have a husband," Lucy barked, pushing her bound body to her knees, "I have a family, and you know I won't hesitate to put a knife through your neck. I would say your heart, but you weren't born with one." He reached a hand down to pet her head, ignoring the way she snapped her teeth at him.

"You have a husband now, but don't worry, I'll make your time as a widow very short, and we'll be taking dear Nashi along with us to make sure that you play your part. She was the key you know, the weakness you haven't had since the Grand Magic Games. Her Heartphilia name will be a problem though, once we have a child, so she may have to go before she becomes a threat." He looked, considering, over to where Nashi was still screaming for her mother.

"Big mistake," Lucy growled, knowing all she needed to "Virgo! Leo! Cancer! I open thy gates!" three spirits materialized and as Cancer started cutting Lucy free, Michael found himself fighting off two spirits at once. She had specifically never used these three while on her job, holding them in reserve, just in case Michael tried anything.

"Thanks Cancer, I need you to go back now, Virgo, take Nashi and get to Porlyusica's. Tell her all of Fairy Tail is infected by Tempesta's poison, take that plate of cookies with you as a sample. Leo, you are with me and Capricorn! Open the gate of the Goat!" Her spirits followed her orders without question, they could sense her emotions nearly better than their own at this point, and knew this was not the time for backstory.

D'Angelis had definitely been working below his skill level on jobs; Lucy's two strongest spirits and herself were evenly matched against the crazed heir. Then Lucy stepped back, signaling she was going to turn him into stardust with Urano Metria, and that her spirits needed to keep him occupied.

"Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens," Lucy started, but was cut off by the knife in her chest, her spirits turning to her in disbelief when they felt her distress skyrocket.

"You forgot." He stated amusedly through his bloodied mouth, "You forgot that there is more than one reason we wear all these clothes!" He cackled, "They hide weapons, and that particular one is poisonous. Pity, I'm going to have to take your A and turn it into an A minus now. Since that I can't have you, I'll have to go track down Nashi and wait 13 years for a bride, but such is life."

Lucy was in so much pain, the knife was wiggling even as her heart fought to keep pumping, but like hell was this bastard going to win, D'Angelis winning meant death for her husband and slavery for her child. Hell itself wasn't going to stop her from defeating him. She took her power away from Loke and Capricorn, kept a little to sustain Virgo, and let them stay on their own terms. She felt her other spirits using their power to break into Earthland, but paid them no mind. Then they gave her strength, reading her will, and Lucy felt their presence as a force.

"All the stars far and wide…," Lucy continued, as he laughed at her attempts.

"Show me thy appearance…" She felt Aquarius's hand fall on her back, even as she fell to her knees. The guild ceiling disappeared, replaced by a black sky filled with celestial bodies.

"With such shine, Oh Tetrabiblios…"

"You can't honestly think you are going to finish that spell? There is a knife in your chest, give up and die al—" Lucy cut him off with the next line of the spell.

"I AM THE RULER OF THE STARS" she proclaimed raising her hands above her head as two magic circles appeared.

"Aspect become complete," Loke's hand joined Aquarius's and she could feel tears landing on her shoulders.

"Open thy malevolent gate," The pain of the knife, the burning sensation of the poison, and the excruciating pressure of the spell forced Lucy to close her eyes, the only way to finish.

"Oh 88 stars of the Heavens," this spell held at least twice the power any of her other casting did. Layla Heartphilia had taught her daughter that love was the true one magic, and it was coursing through her veins as her celestial magic called upon its power. Now to channel it with those last words, only one fate resided for one who defied the one magic.

"Shine!" Lucy demanded, eyes flashing with the magic of the swirling cosmos above.

"Urano Metria!" He was laughing even to his last. The Fairy Tail guildhall crashed under the weight of the spell, eight-eight stars bursting through the ceiling to hit one man, his laughter stopped at the same time as his heart, all crushed to a pulp by Lucy of the house of Heartphilia. There was silence as the spell finished, Michael of the house of D'Angelis, was no more, but he wasn't going alone.

"You were always a stubborn one," Aquarius said wearily, as she kissed the top of Lucy's head. Lucy didn't know how she was still kneeling, but she managed a smile for the spirit she had fought so hard to reclaim.

"We had a good run, eh Aquarius? Interesting? Something to brag about?"

"The best," the water bearer said as she fled to the Celestial spirit world to cry.

"You may not have believed it," Loke said, trying to smile even as tears cascaded down his handsome face, "But I always loved you, and I always will." He kissed the same spot as Aquarius and left as well.

"I love you too Lucy," Aries cried, making a bed for her friend and lightly guiding her down. "Don't forget us, okay? because we will never ever forget you." Kiss. "I'm Sorry!" Poof.

"You have never looked more beautiful-ebi," Cancer said, tears leaking behind his glasses. Kiss. Poof.

"I am sorry I wasn't able to protect you this time," Taurus lamented, baying his sadness. Kiss. Poof.

"Your heart is and always will be filled with the most love and the most courage," Gemini said in Lucy's form, crying in that ugly red shade Lucy hated. It seems she was always meant to die in the arms of her likeness. Kiss. Poof.

"You rocked harder than anyone, no one could compare," Scorpio said, losing his own battle against tears. Kiss. Poof. _Aquarius had better not accuse her of trying to steal Scorpio again, _her pain addled mind thought. So it went until her mother's spirit, Capricorn, was the only one left.

Capricorn had the same tears streaming down his face that streamed down the others, all running unchecked.

"I have served your mother, and I will have the pleasure of serving Nashi, but Lucy of the Stars, Lucy of Fairy Tail, you will always shine the brightest." Kiss. Poof.

There was silence in the decimated guild. Not one muscle could move, and not one voice could speak, but there was not one eye that was not filled with tears. Everyone had watched the whole thing, heard the whole thing, and felt emotions even through their paralysis. There was nothing anyone could do as they heard the panting breaths of Lucy fight to hold on.

Then slow down.

Then stop.

Death was silence.

This was the scene Porlyusika, Virgo, and Nashi strode onto: Lucy laying on a cloud of pink wool, a clearly dead man lying in the center of a demolished guildhall, and every other member of Fairy Tail, green-faced and immobile, crying as much as the poison would allow.

Nashi's crying was the only noise in the area, and even that quieted as Virgo rocked her. The maiden's normally dispassionate face was streaked with tears. She set the child down next to Natsu, and slowly made her way to Lucy, while the physician wiped at her own face and mixed ingredients together.

"You were the only master that has ever truly loved us," the spirit said slowly, falling to her knees beside the body, "And the one we have loved the most in return. I speak for all spirits. Thank you, Princess." The maiden kissed Lucy's forehead as well, and faded quietly, not a poof, and soon enough the only remnants of her presence were the tears drops on the ground where she knelt.

The healer first poured the antidote down Natsu's throat, before moving onto the rest of Team Natsu, purposely not watching the man she had brought back to health constantly as a child, drag his sobbing body towards his wife. Clutching Lucy, he bawled, wanting to deny it, but unable to hear the heartbeat he loved tell him it wasn't real. When it became too much, he released a roar of fire into the sky, larger than anything he had produced before or since.

The stars didn't shine that night, they had no reason to.

The constellations were dark, the moon mourned alone in the sky.

"_How did you deal with it Daddy?" Nashi asked as her father's voice grew too tight to continue. She felt him swallow._

"_There was one thing I had to live for Nashi, I had to live for you. Gray and Erza took care of you while I mourned for three days, not letting anyone come close to me and Lucy, but then I heard your voice cut through everything, asking for your momma and papa, and I knew I had to keep living, keep fighting and playing."_

"_Was it hard?" Nashi asked, instantly feeling stupid._

"_Yes, I was really bad at living for at least a year, and there still isn't a day that goes by I don't think about your mother. She was that special and that important. That is why I haven't been strong enough to talk to you about her before now, and why she isn't mentioned around the guild. Every single person who was there feels responsible, and it took a long time get over that. We know whose fault it was, we know it, but that didn't stop every single person there from reliving that day over and over again, wishing they had done something different. _

"_Is it okay to say that I love Mom? Even if I don't remember anything about her?" Nashi asked, trembling._

"_It is very okay, because she loves you too, and she will be proud of you no matter what,." Natsu kissed the top of their daughter's head, and finally let the tears fall. He had finished his story in an hour, just like he promised, and now he could let the emotion out. Father and daughter cried together, and fell asleep clutching each other. _

_**Even if the skies get rough**_

_**I'm giving you all my love**_

_**I'm still looking up, still looking up**_

**A/N: So I couldn't post this chapter after 416, I was two sad and instead wrote a different fifty page fanfiction in response to that Chapter, now that that story is up, I present you with the end of Nashi Learns. I hope none of you needed a happy ending. I have other fluffy things if you need that. Please tell me what you think of my first really angsty piece in a review! **


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